Forum Help

If you want to ask about changing your username, have login problems, have password problems or a technical issue please email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com

Posting help:

If you want to ask why a word can't be typed, your signature's been changed, or a post has been deleted see the Forum Rules. If you don't find the answer you can ask forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com though due to volumes we can't guarantee replies.

What will happen to my Mum as Dad has died leaving CCJ's. His name is still on her credit file too. Is Mum responsible for these CCJ's? They are much older than 6 years. I know that on some of them he put my Mum's name down. It's a mess....any help or advice appreciated, thanks.

Also, "If you die and have no estate, then your debts die with you as they cannot be repaid. Your relatives are not liable for your debts unless they have provided personal guarantees for those debts."

Everything was left to Mum as his wife. I have looked through CC paperwork of the CCJ's at loans/credit cards which were over 10 years old now. I will contact the court and let them know he has died. Mum is getting all sorts through the post, credit companies asking for payments etc. We have sent them copies of his death certificate, but some seem to ignore it. I'm worried for Mum as she may be asked to pay herself. He left next to nothing Estate-wise.

First of all, I am sorry to hear about your dad. In a situation like this, it can be worth getting some legal advice but there are a few basics that may help.

When someone passes away the debts would need to be paid from their estate - if they have one. This needs to happen before any beneficiaries receive any money. Most creditors will accept funeral expenses being paid before the debts though. Sending the death certificate is the right thing to do, and if creditors are ignoring this you can raise a complaint and ask them to put it on hold whilst the estate is processed. If there is no estate then they can be informed and anything in your dad's sole name would be written off.

There may be an issue if your mum is jointly liable for any of these debts (you mentioned she may have been named on them). If that is the case, and the estate cannot settle the debt, then I am afraid she is liable (as it is covered under joint and several liability). You also mentioned a possible issue with the age of the debts, and your mum may need further advice about limitations.

Are you saying that his estate has been settled by an executor, or that he left a will leaving everything to your mum, or that he died intestate, and everything passes to your mum under rules of succession?

The salient point I take from the above is that if your Mum never knew about your Dad's debts, she cannot be held to be personally guaranteeing them, and thus the debts die with your Dad's passing (unless they can be settled from the estate)

How this site works

We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of the site. We're a journalistic website and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques, but can't guarantee to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong.

This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances and remember we focus on rates not service.

Do note, while we always aim to give you accurate product info at the point of publication, unfortunately price and terms of products and deals can always be changed by the provider afterwards, so double check first.

We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned (how likely they are to go bust), but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the Section 75 guide for protection tips).

We often link to other websites, but we can't be responsible for their content.

Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion.

MoneySavingExpert.com is part of the MoneySupermarket Group, but is entirely editorially independent. Its stance of putting consumers first is protected and enshrined in the legally-binding MSE Editorial Code.